Behind the Bok: Ashlie Sandoval

April 14, 2022
Ashlie Sandoval

Each month we will profile a member of the Bok staff in order for our friends and colleagues to learn more about us, the full range of work that we do, how we approach our work, and what is happening in the world of teaching and learning from different perspectives.

Ashlie Sandoval, Assistant Director, Equity and Inclusion

Q: What is your educational background?

A: I have a PhD in performance studies from Northwestern University, an MA in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from the University of Cincinnati, and a BA in Japanese and political science from San Francisco State University.

Q: How did you decide that you were interested in working at a teaching and learning center?

A: Before coming to the Bok Center, I was a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University and Amherst College. At Princeton, I taught a course called The Architecture of Race, and during that experience I realized that teaching was one of the most rewarding parts of my work. I enjoy crafting environments and scenarios where students can learn course content while also developing their own style(s) of knowledge production. Also, at Amherst, I hosted faculty learning communities around anti-racist and decolonial pedagogy, and I realized that as much as I like teaching, I also enjoy conversations about the process of teaching, specifically as it relates to the work of equity, inclusion, and social justice. These combined postdoc experiences made me interested in working at a teaching and learning center.

Q: What are you reading right now related to your work?

A: I just finished reading Beyond White Mindfulness: Critical Perspectives on Racism, Well-Being, and Liberation, edited by Crystal M. Fleming, Veronica Y. Womack, and Jeffrey Proulx. It’s a book that looks at how racial injustice and social identity impact the practice and facilitation of mindfulness.

Q: What do you love to do when you’re not doing teaching and learning work?

A: I love taking nature walks with my fiancé and our two cats, practicing mindfulness, playing video games, and learning watercolor and ink techniques.

Ashlie going for a walk with her two cats on a leash